Power-transmission mechanism.



E. W. POTTS. POWER TRANSMISSION MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 6. l9l3.

4Pnented Nov. 19, 1918.

WIT/VESSES Y M a specification.

y has a plurality of Tian .sTATns rATnNT onirica.

HLIJAH w. roTTs, or DETROIT, MICHIGAN, AssIsNon or ONE-'HALF To .IoNATHAN A.

v ZAHN, or nnTnoIT, MICHIGAN.

POWER-TRANSMISSION MECHANISM.

Legnaro.

epeccaton of. Letters Patent.

Patented New., 1199 1911.80

-useful limprovements in Power-Transmission Mechanism, of which the following is This invention relates to power transmis- Ision mechanism and especially to that class thereof which are used in connection with hydro-carbon engines and which are adapted to transform or vary the speed of the driven member or shaft relatively to the driving shaft of the engine 0r other motor,

this transformation being in certain 'fixed proportions in accordance .with the size of the gears 1n use.

rlhe invention has for one of its objects the provision of an improved device of this character in which the engine or motor shaft gears which are normally loose upon said shaft, but may be respectively corotatively connected therewith for driving a jackpshaft, the latter imparting motion, through `a` set of gears, to the driven shaft which may be connected with the differential of an automobile or other vehicle and be driven in various speed forward, and also in a reverse direction. A

The invention has, furthermore, for its object the provision of an improved mechanisrn in which the gear driven by the jack shaft may be directly coupled to the engine shaft, in which case the former ywill be rotated at uniform speed with the latter, while the intermediate gears are at a standstill. y rlhe invention has, furthermore, for its object 'the provision of improved means for disconnecting any .one of connecting and the engine shaft, to or nism whereby a gear normally loose on the driven shaft of the device will be coupled thereto, and remain in that condition only during the time that one of the primary gears of the engine shaft is actually corotatively connected therewith.

rllhe invention has also for its object the improved construction of the means whereby the motor shaft may be coupled to any one ofthe members directly operated thereby, this construction including a radiallymovablekey adapted to enter an internal key-way which is provided in a member to be connected with the shaft.

Further objects of the invention will hereinafter appear and be particularly deined in the claim.

The invention has been in the accompanying drawings in which similar characters denote similar parts and in which Figure l is-,a horizontal section of a transmission device embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of my improved device. y

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail View, on an enlarged scale, illustrating the driving shaft and its connection with one of the members to be operated thereby. f

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 denotes the main driving shaft of the device which may be the engine shaft itself or it may be -premanently coupled thereto, as desired. I

Mounted for free rotation on this shaft are a series of gears 11, 12 and 13, of which the lgears 12 and 1.3 are shown as being rotatable on ball bearings, whilethe gear 11 is illustrated as being freely rotatable on plain bushingsl interposed between it and the shaft 10.. The gear 11 is inthe-present clearly illustrated the .driven member, shown herein as a shaft 14 in axial alinement with the motor shaft 10, in a direction opposite to that of the latter. ln other words r-the gear or pinion 11, when in operation, performs the re' verse drive as follows z--Mounted on a stud 15 held in the casing '16, is an intermediatev gear 17 which is driven by the pinion 11 and is in mesh with a gear 18 permanently secured to Vor keyed onI a jack shaft 19 which is' journaled in suitable bearings 2O and 21, shown herein as ball bearings held within the casing and protected against dust and dirt by caps 22 and 23. rll`he jack shaft 19 carries at its other' end a pinion 24 having a key connection 25 therewith and meshing directly into a gear 26 which is loosely mounted for rotation on a sleeve 27 which constitutes a part of an inner sleeve 28 to -which it may be secured against longituicc lll@

' key 36 whic'hserves to rotatively 'connect a spool 37 with the driven member `14, or more maintained.

a collar whereby the gear 26 will'y be held against longitudinal movement onthe sup-v portingzshaft 14 of 1which the sleeve 28 'forms a part, 4as clearly shown in Fig. 1,

the sleeve 28 having at its left-hand end Aa flange A30 between which and the sleeve iange I31 the hub of the gear 26 will be Longitudinal movement of lthe -drivenshaft 14 relatively to the motor shaft 10v fwill be prevented by virtue of the inner sleeve 28 being positioned between a shoulder 32 on the-shaft 10,1and a washer or collar 33 interposed between the right-hand thereof .and the bearing 34 of thecasing: It should be understood that in the present instance the construction is such that the reduced portion 35;.of the motor shaft is jou'rnaledl in lthe inner sleeve 28 of the driven member, as shown.' l

The inner sleeve28 is 'provided with a particularlyspeaking with the inner sleeve 28 thereof, and said spool .is provided with clutch-teeth 38 adapted to engage or; dis-- engage clutch'teeth 39 formedon the vface of `the hub' ofthe gear 26.

Inasmuch asin Fig. 1, the'clutch teeth are shown in engagement,I it will be seen that th'e shaft 14 is rotatedat a slow speed in a reverse. direction. fr'om the shaft 10, the active' gear train comprising the pinion 11, the intermediate 17', the jack gear 18,. the jack pinion '24, vthe gear26, andthe spool. 37,' this driving `relation .remaining inf. force as long as the pinion 11 is corotatively connected withvthev shaft 10,y

This pinion is now rotativelyconnected with the shaft 10 by a .drop key 40 which is mounted for radial oscillation in a groove 41 provided in the shaft 10 and is piyoted with its other end'at v42 to a spool or carrier v43 which is'also carried by the shaft 1-0, .f but may 'be moved longitudinally thereof for the purpose of -withdrawing the key head 1from ythepinion 1 1 and bring it into coperation witheither of the ,keyways 12and .13- of the gears 12 and 13 respectively, or said head may pass to a position directly under the race ring 44 in which case thepinion'and gears 12 and 13 are alll looseVV or. disconnected'l from the shaft 10.

From the foregoing it will bel understood that the key head 40" should be so constructed -that it can be slid Ilongitudinally from the key groove of one gear into that of the adjacent gear, in either direction, and for this reason the `head is beveled in its opposite side faces, as clearly shown at 40, and it is supported by a spring 140 the upper end ofwhichenters a corresponding recess in the head, while itslower end is supported on a drag shoe 141 which is pivotshaft will then be rotated at a hi her rate `'ber controlled thereby, as for` instance the spool 37 above mentioned and itsteeth 38.

ally attached at 142 to. the main body of the key 40. A

1When the-carrier 43 is shifted to bring the key head 40 into the key-way 12 of the gear 12, a driving connection is established 70.- in the same direction betweenthese two shafts, but at a slow speed, by' virtue ofthe gear 12 directlydriving a jack gear 45 ywhich is also keyed to the jack shaft and,

therefore, drives the/latter, leaving all fthe other driving connectionsbetween the jack .pinion v24 and its connected elements the `same asbefore.

When the key head 40"- isbrou'ght into engagement with the key-way 13 of' the. gear 13, the jack shaft isdriven from vsaid gear through a pinion 46-a1so keyed upon said jack shaft, and inasmuch asinthatinstance the gear ratio is-different, said jack of speed, such speed being consi ered the' to stop all rotation ofthe gearsfll, 12` and 13, as well as' the jack shaft 19 and the 100 arts'connectedtherewitm means areprov ided whereby the' gear 26, or more par-f tieularly speaking its teeth 39, arerel'eased vfrom the driven shaft 14 or from any mem- In other words ,When a directengagement is eected between the clutch teeth 47 and 48, the clutch teeth 38 and 39 are inV dis- A connectedl condition, and vice versa. no In order tolefi'ect these conditions -automatically andat the proper time, the spool` -or carrier 43 and the spool 37 are con-A trolled by the movement of a single member which comprises a longitudinally movable or shiftable rod 50 mounted for such movement in the casing, and' having va fixed "shipperv fork 51 engaging a groove in the carrier43, and a loose shipper 52 which is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 3120 1 by a spring. 53, it being understood that the movement of the shipper -52 toward the vleft will be-limited jby the engagement 'between the clutch teeth 38 and'39.

From the description above given it will 325 ,be remembered that as long' as the drop key 40 is in engagement with any one of the ,gears 11, 12 and 13, the connection between the clutch teeth 38 and 39 remains intact, and for this reason the shipper 52 should 130 not be operated until the key head 40 is entirely out of engagement with either of said gears. For this reason a collar 53 issecured l gagement, therefore letting all of the gears to the sliding rod at such' a point ,that said rod mayhave a longitudinal movement to effect a complete disengagement between the key head 40 from any and all of thel gears,l before it engages the shipper 53. As soon as the key head 40" is clear of the gears, the clutch teeth 47 and 48 may be brought into engagement by the continued longitudinal movement of the rod 5Q`, it being understood that when these teeth are in full engagement the shipper 52 will be moved far enough to bring the clutch teeth 38 and 39 out of enremain idle or 'at a` standstill. This condition constitutes the high speed or direct connection between the engine shaft and the driven shaft, y

Any suitable-means may be employed for imparting longitudinal movement to lthe rod 50, the construction shown in the accom-` panying drawings being merely elementary `and 'comprising a lever 545 which may be secured to a manually operable shaft 55.

In recapitulation of the operation of my improved device, particular emphasis is laid upon the fact that the present mechanism permits-the operator, by a quick movement of his hand, to go from full speed ahead to reverse, without necessarily stopping at any of the intermediate points or speeds, this action being accomplished by the move ment of the shipper rod from its eXtreme right-hand position to that shown 'in Fig. 1, in which case the key-head 40 would simply slide beneath the inner race rings and the bores of the gears l2 and 13, the key-ways of which cannot enter unless the head is brought to a standstill in direct radial alinement with suchkey-Ways. In other words -In order to couple any one of the gears 11,

12- and 13 with the engine shaft, the shipper rod must be brought to a stop at such point where the key head 40' c an enter the key-way of that one particular gear.

Attention is called to Fig. 4in which I have illustrated another feature of my invention which is particularly adapted for use in connection with the mechanism/above described. The usual. practice in cutting key-ways is that of cutting a slot through the device, longitudinall '.of-theshaft, this yslot being of a Width su stantially equal to the width of the key to be entered thereinto. Inasmuch as` in the. present instance the gears 11,' 12 and 13 are selective the following description will apply to all of them.

It will be noted that the key head40 can commence to move into its 'operative posil tion, when it reachesthe point' a, the stock of the gear 11 being cut away as shown at 11, so as to allow the key to arrive at its full outward position in a gradual manner and without the neri ssity of having the key groove el and4 its key head come into exact register with the key slot in the gear, this i l construction,being`particularly useful in eases where the speed of the driving shaft 10 is of `great velocity, in which case the peripheral speed of the shaft may be so great that a liability exists vthat the key may be carried by the key slot in the gear before`it has a chance ,to enter it.

`Changes may be made in the general organization, as well as in the particular construction of some of the component elements of the device without departing from the spirit of the invention, especially in the ,manner of mounting the several gears for rotation. in the manner of operating the sliding key for connecting and disconnecting the several gears of the series with the driving shaft, andalso inthe manner of eorotatively connecting and operating the clutch devices above described.

I claim The combination of a Idriving shaft, .a jack shaft, a series of loose wheels on one `of said shafts and a corresponding number of fixed wheels on the other shaft, of a driven shaft, means for rotating the latter from the jack shaft, a key having a recess movable longitudinally and radially to connect any one of the loose wheels with its shaft, a spring seated in .said recess for normally moving said key radially outwardly, and a drag shoe pivoted with one end on said key for supporting said spring.

' In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' ELIJAH lV. POTTS. lVitncsse's Unas. F. SCHMELZ, Hf D. MAoDoANLn. 

